D C 473 MAALOUF, AMIN (1949– ) Lebanese essay- ist, novelist Languages, cultures, and histories inter- sect in the writings of Amin Maalouf, a Lebanese and French novelist, researcher, and journalist. Maalouf’s native language is Arabic, and he speaks fluent French and English. His works have been translated from the French into more than 20 languages. Maalouf is con- sidered one of the pioneers of historical fiction, a writer who is concerned with the accurate rendition of his- tory that avoids distortions or misrepresentations. His work transcends localities and addresses readers of various tastes and affiliations. The ethics of Maalouf’s work engages a transcultural and transnational dia- logue that promotes tolerance and affinity, but does not ignore particularities or differences. Maalouf uses the duality of the Lebanese condition to inform his theory of composite identity. Maalouf was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on February 25, 1949, the second of four children. Maalouf is a Catholic Arab whose lineage exhibits the multiplicity of his identity. His father, Ruchdi, was a Greek Catho- lic, and his mother, Odette, was born in Egypt of a Maronite Christian father. His maternal grandparents lived in Turkey and then moved to Lebanon. Many of his ancestors migrated to America, Australia, Egypt, and Cuba. Maalouf grew up in a culturally rich envi- ronment, as he received an English education from his father’s family and a French education from that of his mother, along with his Arabic education. Maalouf attended French Jesuit schools, studied sociology and economics at the French University in Beirut, and earned a master’s degree in sociology. Following the family tradition of journalism, Maalouf joined the leading Beirut daily an-Nahar, at the age of 22. He traveled to more than 60 countries and reported on several conflicts including the Marxist revolt in Ethiopia (1974) and the fall of Saigon (1975). One of his major assignments was interviewing Indira Gandhi. In 1971 Maalouf married. Though Maalouf had considered studying in Paris for up to a year, he never imagined a future outside Lebanon. Yet the onset of the Lebanese civil war in 1975 radically altered the course of his life and work. Maalouf spent a year in Lebanon, remaining neutral and working to stop the war. He then migrated with his wife and three children to Paris in 1976. Despite his strong attachment to his country, Maalouf has conceded that he could not write about the Leba- nese civil war because he neither experienced the con- flict on a daily basis nor was far enough removed to be objective. However, this war informed his writings on catastrophes that stem from ethnic tension and religious fanaticism. Maalouf has observed that his migration to Paris reinforced his relation with his native country, broadened his perspective of the Lebanese civilization, and sharpened his knowledge of histories and cultures of various countries, such as the Maghreb and Iran. In Paris, Maalouf continued to work as a journalist and joined the magazine Jeune Afrique, writing in French for the first time. He served as director of the Paris-based M